Mca Development Co

Homeowner leaders Thursday expressed concern about a lawsuit filed by MCA Development Co. to rezone 23 acres of vacant land next to Universal City for intense commercial development. "This is quite distressing," said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Homeowners Assn. Lucente said his group opposes rezoning that would permit further development of the Universal City area as a regional commercial center. The real estate arm of MCA Inc.

Homeowner leaders Thursday expressed concern about a lawsuit filed by MCA Development Co. to rezone 23 acres of vacant land next to Universal City for intense commercial development. "This is quite distressing," said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Homeowners Assn. Lucente said his group opposes rezoning that would permit further development of the Universal City area as a regional commercial center. The real estate arm of MCA Inc.

MCA Development Co. filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the courts to compel a reluctant city of Los Angeles to rezone 54 acres of prime vacant property next to Universal City for major high-rise development. The lawsuit by the real estate subsidiary of entertainment giant MCA Inc. is the latest to piggyback on the legal principles raised in the recent litigation surrounding Warner Ridge.

MCA Development Co. filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the courts to compel a reluctant city of Los Angeles to rezone 54 acres of prime vacant property next to Universal City for major high-rise development. The lawsuit by the real estate subsidiary of entertainment giant MCA Inc. is the latest to piggyback on the legal principles raised in the recent litigation surrounding Warner Ridge.

Move over, King Kong. The next attraction at Universal Studios may have a decidedly home-grown look. Residents living near Universal City say they want the studios' last major open space to become a quiet village instead of a glitzy Star Trek set or a make-believe Red Sea that parts. Studio officials have asked residents of Studio City, Toluca Lake and other nearby areas what kind of project they think is suitable for an 80-acre hilltop next to the Universal Studios Tour site.

Over some objections from neighbors, MCA, as expected, won Los Angeles City Council approval Wednesday to build a $70-million addition to be known as "CityWalk" at its Universal City entertainment complex. CityWalk plans call for construction of a 257,000-square-foot pedestrian-oriented mall, consisting mostly of boutiques and restaurants but also including a 50,000-square-foot music production studio and a 20,000-square-foot UCLA Extension facility.

A county transportation panel granted entertainment giant MCA a monthlong reprieve Thursday to find alternate sources of funding for the potential relocation of a Metro Rail station onto the company's Universal Studios lot.

A group of Studio City residents who oppose a Universal Studios plan to build a new parking garage has requested a formal environmental review. The garage is proposed for an area northeast of the Hollywood Freeway between Lankershim Boulevard and Universal City Drive. The request was made by a Studio City residents group after the proposed 10-story parking garage won conditional approval from the environmental section of the planning department.

Eleven-year-old David Aaronson of Encino doesn't want people to simply look at the mural he helped paint at Universal CityWalk with 19 other children from throughout Los Angeles. "I want people to learn from it," Aaronson said as he stood next to the whimsical "Hope for the Future" mural, painted Tuesday on a wall of plywood that wraps around a building under construction near the entrance to CityWalk in Universal City.